Breast implants are becoming more and more popular in the United States and elsewhere. A breast implant is a prosthesis that may be used for changing the size, shape, and contour of a human breast. Breast implants are implanted under the breast tissue or under the chest muscle to increase breast size (augmentation), to rebuild breast tissue after mastectomy or other damage to the breast (reconstruction), or to correct congenital defects in the chest wall. They are also used in revision surgeries, which correct or improve the result of an original surgery.
Breast implants are available in many different forms; saline-filled breast implants, in which an implant shell is filled with sterile salt water, and silicone-filled breast implants, in which the implant shell is filled with a silicone gel. Both types have a silicone outer shell. They vary in size, shell thickness, shell surface texture, and shape (contour).
Rupturing of silicone breast implants can result after placement into the human body. When this occurs in a saline breast implant, it deflates, meaning the saltwater (saline) solution leaks from the shell. When a silicone gel-filled implant ruptures, the gel may remain in the shell or in the scar tissue that forms around the implant. Silicone gel that leaks outside the capsule surrounding the implant may travel (migrate) away from the breast. The leaked silicone gel may cause lumps to form in the breast or in other tissue. It may be difficult or impossible to remove silicone gel that has traveled to other parts of the body. Ruptured silicone breast implants can cause breast pain or changes in the contour or shape of the breast. After rupture, the implant is usually removed. Removal after rupture is a time consuming, tedious and difficult process. Typically, such removal is performed by manual extraction utilizing surgical sponges or a crude bottle suction device that has poor performance and is susceptible to infection and other medical complications.
Accordingly, there is a need for a manner or device to aid in this removal process.